Aside from the Obvious......

Sorry it's been awhile since a brotha updated....but in a brief synopsis, here goes...

Last time, y'all heard from ol' boy....he was embroiled and immersed in the Air Traffic maze that OKC was throwing at me. I was getting hit, and throwing left hooks at any and everything those grumpy, disgruntled retired controller-instructors were throwing at me. Extended downwinds, got you.....wake turbulence calls, I eat those for breakfast...I was pumpin and bangin planes left and right before the final test...the dreaded "PV".

I had a run with my lead instructor the day before (my name had been drawn first to face the FAA monsters in the lab) that in his words, was "flawless".....coming from "Big John" that meant a lot. This guy was an instructor with an unblemished record, and was a veteran of the insane O'Hare Airport...

On PV day...I'm nervous....I didn't get any sleep the night before, because when I did slip into dreamland, I had visions of extended upwinds, traffic calls, and runway crossings. I wore my "money green" old navy polo with the light khaki linen pants...I'm ready to roll. My classmates give me the look...the one a man gets right before he lays on the gurney and gets the needle. I plug in my MP3 and start playing my warm up music..."NBA on NBC", "Ravishing Rick Rude theme" and "I Really Mean It" by Dipset.

I walk down the long hallway to the simulators, looking like a fighter ready for the ring, without the robe and hoodie and trainers of course. Freddie, one of the best students there, was assigned to be my ground, so those ops are covered. I step into lab 4...my strips are setup...its just me, Freddie, the FAA lady (cool lady from Detroit) and the ghost pilot.

They ask if I'm ready.....and I am.

First 10 minutes....easy traffic, big boys landing outside of WOODY....a guy comes in for touch-and-goes.....easy...

Then...the storm comes...

About 8 different people call me from EVERYWHERE....touch-and-goes....STOP-and-goes....one airliner goes around.....I freak out....I call departure, and tell them what happened (good awareness). Hell almost breaks loose before the instructor calls A-through-F (Air traffic's signal for, "ok your done"). I brief her, and then I'm told to leave the room for about 15 minutes.

In my mind, my career is over......

All the late nights, early mornings, the studying, the pain the suffering the hard work. GONE.

I ran to the EDS labs, to reply what I did wrong....some of my classmates asked me how it was.

I didn't crash anything......no operational errors...no runway incursions....was I ok?

After wandering back to the scene of the crime....my instructor says "hey, where'd you go , we're looking for you."

I go in with my instructor, sit, down...and wait......for the rest of my career to either begin or end.

"First off.....I passed you..."

............silence

Euphoria......naw man...I can't even find a word for this....everything she told me about afterward didn't matter.

I passed...

Right now, I'm in Cedar Rapids.....typing my greatest achievement out onto a blank screen, and I'll give you blow-by-blow deatils of the time until my arrival in the following posts...just know that ya boy is legit!!!

Cut the ATIS!!!!!!

Okay, after the initial arse-kicking we took in our tabletop labs, things got less crazy, I got my confidence up, and I FINALLY got time to come back and update for y'all...

Basically, in a nutshell, I've been banging Academy lingo into my subconscious, to the point where I DREAM in Academy-speak. (Make straight-in, Runway 34, turn left at taxiway Sonic....)

From where I was a month ago, compared to where I am now is miraculous. We always heard stories about the intensity of phase two, about instructors from Hades, folks leaving problems frustrated and teary-eyed and of course about folks being sent home (jobless!) It's SUPER intense, but hey, if we screw up in real life....someone's mom/dad/brother/sister/husband/wife ain't makin' it home for Thanksgiving, you know what I'm saying?

The one good thing I'm digging about phase two here are the tabletops......we get to practice on toy planes. Yeah you heard me.....toy planes. And it's insanely challenging/fun to apply super-duper pilot lingo to a Fisher-Price lawnmower...but it's awesome. I'll update when I get some breathing room.

Standby...

Scarred and Battered!

Yeah, this pretty much sums up the coursework we're getting here. I'm getting PWNED by the Academy right now in terms of academics.......only the strong survive!!!!!! I'll report back when I have VFR conditions......

The Winner of this Bout....

And Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuw Intercontinental Champion!!!!!!!!!!

All Hail B-Dubs!!!

Buffalo Effing Wild Wings...

That's my new spot down here y'all. I'm for real, I've gone three times this week, and this was after my 3pm to midnight shift/class.

The first time we went, it was after that cage fight, it was karaoke night, and after my 4th Guinness, I went Simon Cowell on mofos in there and the boys thought it was hilarious. Well after the YardDawgs's game, we all went again....and guess what night it was.

Karae-effing-oke

It's wild, because down here they take it seriously at Buffalo Wild Wings. The words come up on an 80 inch screen, and these Okie chicks really get into it. Trouble is, no one is giving these folks props for stepping onto the mic to destroy their favortie country/pop hits. That's where I come in...

The first "contestant" was your typical Okie chick (think Dixie Chicks mixed with LeAnn Rimes mixed with the year 2002). This girl killed me, because she was doin Keesha Cole and was taking pulls off a Newport in one hand while she belted the song out with the mic in the other. And all her friends were stone silent. So the lone black guy in the back of the joint, stands up out his seat and gave her props..

"Yeah baby, sing that sh*t!"

At this point, her trucker hat, John Deere t-shirt wearing buddies turn around and look at us half in amusement and half in "wait, is he making fun of us?"

"Yo, make me feeeeel that sh*t!" Make me feeeeeel it!!!"

My boys and I are DYING at this point, because the Okie chick hears us, and is trying NOT to screw the song up because of laughing at us.

From then on, as it is now....I'm the B Dub'd Karaoke guy, performing my self-appointed duty of encouraging drunk singers to do their best......dammit.

Weird stuff I've seen recently:

-A guy driving down Reno Blvd with no front grill.......and no HOOD for that matter. Engine was just laying there naked.

-The 50 year old woman who had the 28 year old booty and a silly putty face. I never seen the aftermath of bad plastic surgery before, but lemme tell you, it's effing scary. She made Joan Rivers look like an 18 yr old prom queen. Even worse was the guy handcuffing her in the frozen food section at Walmart. Hey he had to protect his investment...right?

-Arena League....need I say more?

-I don't fit in down here, because I won't rock a do-rag and wifebeater to the Cheesecake Factory.

-Walmart down here has its own zip code

-French Canadians got mad game yo

and that's it for now. Studying for my comprehensive on Wednesday (afterwhich I'll graduate from Air Traffic Basics and start my tower training).

Oh, here's a pic from the game...

Do you know what you're lookin' at?!

Because guess what, as of today I DO!

Go ahead, click on that pic and grab a bottle of Excedrin and see what I'm looking at down here. As expected, the road to CPC is NOT an easy one.....

Yeah, you thought that while you're sippin' Merlot in first class of your flight to Black Urban Crunk Bike Beach Bash Week Retreat in Miami, that flyin that aluminum bird was like pushin' your 08' Camry?! Hell naw man! I have a brand spankin' newfound respect for the men and women that are behind the control sticks and radar screen of our country. So the next time you're wondering why your nap in interrupted by the pilot "goin ova all dem bumps", think twice, and go back to sleep...

Got my first official federal (mom would be proud) money today, so now I can stash it away for my dream vacation at Cedar Rapids!

FINALLY got back to the gym, and the FAA's facility is on par with Gold's, real nice, showers/lockers/ and raquetball (which my homie Jeff says is a "white guy's game").

Going to see the arena football (I know, I know...) game on Saturday. It's the Oklahoma......sorry y'all, I'm laughing so hard I can't type this, so lemme try again.

*Ahem*

It's the Oklahoma YardDawgz against some other team that was probably named by inner-city fifth graders. Can you tailgate for an arena league game? You'll have an answer soon.

*Newsflash*

I finally figured out how SONIC worked....apparently, you're NOT supposed to just walk into the little kitchen in the back of the parking lot and say "Yo, can I order?" , while scaring the manager in the process. That behavior will result in a "can I hep yew?" You have to push a button on the sidewalk to talk to people on the inside.

Effing Genius!!!


GO CELTICS!

Oh HELL Naw!

Got up today around 9, I didn't really sleep too well because I was still broken up from Tuesday's workout. My eyes crack open as I fumble around for the remote, and when I turn it on I hear stories of floods, tornadoes and dead Boy Scouts. To quote the guy on FOX News "Just......just HORRIFIC weather".

Guess where all this sh*t happened........like OVERNIGHT?

Effing Iowa.

Cedar Rapids is underwater apparently. I emailed the good folks at my future tower today and Cedar Rapids (aka "C-Rap" or just "Crap") is now the lost city of Atlantis. Unfortunately, I have two years of this craziness to look forward to, so as far as I'm concerned, I'm living everyday here in OK City like its my last day at Disney. If that's not motivation to get in, do my thing and get checked out, I don't know what is.

In other news and notes, I got a 93% on my 2nd block test. No retakes for me baby! I woulda got 100% if it wasn't for me choking on an answere I ALREADY HAD MARKED CORRECTLY.

Our boy Carl has notified us of some crazy sh*t he's been eating, and so far he's hipped us to not one, but TWO......well....."unique" recipes.

Carl's Chicken:

2 Blueberry (or strawberry, depending which way the wind blows) waffles. Eggo's Preferred.

1 breaded chicken patty

Maple Syrup

Directions: Microwave the chicken patty, toast up the waffles...put some syrup on them summbitches and BAM! Carl's chicken. It's like a McGriddle gone horribly wrong...

Carl's NBA Finals Snack:

Me and Tyrone died when we saw this. Our dude goes to the kitchen, brings out a bag of M&Ms, goes back and gets a jar of peanut butter and a knife. (At this point, me and Ty stop watching the game just to see what the hell he's gonna do with all this). He dips the knife into the peanut butter AND THEN dips it into the bag of M&Ms. Hood candy at its finest!

Hey, go hard or go home right?

Believe it or not the picture above is of a typical Oklahoma city bus stop/oil well. Gas here is like 2$, no lie...if you need a fill up holla at me!

Oklahoma is.....OKAY!

Finally!

Something worth writing about that didn't involve heat or pillbugs! We rolled out to the Lucky Star Casino in El Reno, OK on Saturday for some good ol' fashioned cagefightin'!

The Lucky Star is ran by the Arapaho tribe, who had an awesome event. Man, I was nice n' saucy by the time the first bell rang, but it was just like how you'd see on tv. Lotsa beer, lotsa tatts and lotsa big huge dudes that could knock my head off. There were eight fights in all (for only $25, still can't get over that) and most of them had tapouts. I was suprised at how many local MMA gyms there are in the midwest, and aparrently its big here in OK. Lotsa dudes were under 155, but those guys had the best fights.

The guys I went with had a good time, but when the ring girls started tossing t-shirts, I made it my mission to go cop one. In between the 7th and 8th round, I did my best box-out on some wack dude to claim a "Lucky Star Casino" tee. Yeah it's just a damn t-shirt, but this is nostaliga...no...HISTORY!

Plus, there was a 5$ voucher in that mofo.

And in other news....Celtics, WTF!?! How you gonna blow a 24-point lead like that? Seriously, everytime Doc looks like a competent, championship coach, he gets as lacadasical as his players. The thing is, as a player, he used to go to war with Dominique against the Celtics (Doc was #25)




One more thing, a bit of sad news, some kid has quit already from the class across from us. Maybe it wasn't in his heart to be here, maybe he's young and had something else he wanted to go for. All I know is that I came waaaaaaay too far to screw up anything now, and I hope homeboy made the right decision.

I'm running 3pm to midnight all this week, so I'll give y'all some updates soon.

What I'd Like To Have Right Now.......

So hype for today.

Finally, a worthwhile weekend in the midwest with lots of stuff going on in the city. I passed my re-take with a 93% so now that I have pt. 1 of Air Traffic Basics down, I have part two coming up. We already started looking principles of flight, types of aircraft, etc. I have acquired a new language, where "B" is "Bravo", "A" is "Alpha", and "Z" is "Zulu" (those who know me should now understand this blog's name). I've met countless people down here who have clowned me, and praised me (in the same breath no less) for going to Cedar Rapids. Don't get me wrong, I'm still VERY UPSET AND BUMMED OUT ABOUT BEING SHIPPED TO RUST BELT HELL.

But you know something?

Sometimes in life, we have to go places, and do things we don't want to do to get to where we want to be. No NEED to be. I want this career badly, and I want the reward that comes with it. If the road to CPC (Certified Professional Controller) goes through Cedar F*cking Rapids, then so be it. A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. People deep in the game have already told me that I'll only be there (and certified) in about a year's time. Then I can go wherever the ca$h at. I met a guy at happy hour yesterday who worked for DFW (Dallas Fort Worth to you civilians) and he told me that I would come up HUGE at a major hub airport like that (6 figga jigga!). So I've got my sights set on these spots when I leave Cornworld:

1. Texas, either Houston or Dallas. I have a strange love affair with that state, their food, their weather, their women, you name it. Only thing I can't stand about TX is the Cowboys and Bush. I think I can forgive those two transgressions if I move there

2. Florida. Yeah they have hurricanes, and drug dealers and crime and gators and heat and mosquitos, but you know what? Fort Lauderdale Airport would be super silly (not Miami, I still wanna have my sanity). Not to mention EVERYONE I know would wanna come chill.

3. Arizona. Before y'all start whinig about heat, AZ is coming up nice. It's a major city, WINTER DOESN'T EXIST THERE, and I have all the Mexican food I can eat.

4. Las Vegas. Not the city y'all, but the suburbs are about to be America's Next Small City Everyone Is Trying To Move To. Just watch!


Aside from all that, I'm hype this weekend because me and the guys are going to a cagefight. That's right, B Teezy is gonna check out some down home WEC type ish at the casino. We saw the billboard for this event while on the bus back from the MMAC, and tix are only $25 bucks for 8, count 'em 8 fights! That's better then Wrestlemania!!!

Ladies, I've regained my motivation for the gym. I've lost weight and I look like a washed up former athlete at the moment, but if you all need a refresher of what I looked like BEFORE OKC, and what I'll be in a few weeks, check out the video of the guy who inspired me to push steel:



Rick Rude was the MAN! He didn't give a sh*t about people booing him, and he had an insane amount of confidence bordering on obnoxious arrogance. His finishing move was LETHAL and he was a great performer (Warrior was lame at his role, while Ravishing MADE you hate him). Now you all know that wrestling is hot garbage these days. It's 90% theatre and 10% sport. How can anyone take that sh*t seriously. When I was coming up with the WWF, it was 95% sport, with just enough drama to stir sh*t up. Announcers wore tuxes, just like the boxing matches in Vegas. The wrestlers wore wrestling gear (not like today, where guys look like they just did a few reps at Bally's or just stepped off the court for a pick up game). Guys had REASONS for their beefs, now they just fight for the sake of fighting.

Anyways, that ends today's rant. I'm gonna wear a TapOut tee shirt or something so I can look badass tonight. I might get me a Latina ring girl or something. Full update tomorrow.

Eye of the Storm

This week officially counts as week two of the FAA Playoffs in OKC. We've had our heads crammed chock full of aviation goodness, with topics like aircraft separation standards, airport markings and radar/tower positions being covered. Right now, to unwind, I'm watching the 20th anniversary of the Lakers/Celtics matchup. Unwind? Why do I need to unwind? Maybe because:

-We had our first block test yesterday, in which I scored an 86%...........passing is 90%.

-Tornado season is really starting to crank up, with our instructors giving us advice about how to handle severe tornado situations (just hop in the bathtub!)

-I had an official Oklahoma welcome, when a mid-60's hilbilly asked me if I knew where he "could score some rock".

-I was propositioned at the Dollar General by a prostitute. (I'm more of a Sonic parking lot kinda dude)

-I swear I saw DJ and his girl from Hustle and Flow at the gas station.

-People at the Academy apologize profusely when I tell them I've been assigned to Cedar Rapids. Like I just told them I had ball cancer or something.

-No seriously...............Cedar F*cking Rapids? Every other kid in my class is going someplace cool. 3 going to Hawaii, a bunch going to Florida, the brothers I'm cool with going to Cali.

-My FAA housing is infamous, and is known as the worst corporate lodging in OKC. Meridian Mansions aka "the Hood". I don't know why they're upset, I mean, what's wrong with crunching on pillbug carcasses when you step into your bathroom (with the non working toilet, my "property manager" suggested I pull the stem in the tank). The shower has two working faucets "scalding" and "ice water" (depending on what the tenant upstairs is doing).

-Pillbugs aren't so bad...it's the Boll Weevils that'll get you......

-It's not the heat...its the dust.

I need to finish my Bud so I can forget today happened.....

Out of the Frying Pan...

And into this hot ass, dry weather. Don't get me wrong, this beats 60 and rainy any day back home in GTown, but what makes it so bad is that its hard to get around. As a matter of fact, it seems as if exercise is FROWNED upon down here. There are no sidewalks, no crosswalks, BBQ every 38 feet and a bus that comes as often as the Olympics do.

The Academy (all two days of it) has been pretty cool to say the least. I've always been kinda interested in aviation since I was a youngin in Memphis (and dad used to beat my butt for breaking his model planes). People have no idea how mucn of an areonautics nerd I really am. I went to Space Camp (remember that movie?) when I was nine. I can give an impromptu and thorough tour of the exhibits at the National Air and Space museum, as well as give you the names of each and every one of the Mercury Seven (10 trillion cool points to those who know who they are). I vividly remember January of 86' when Challenger went down as well as Columbia.

In class, we got a big, government looking catalog with our lesson plan in it, and it's heavy. Luckily, I met two brothers from my class that live near me on North Meridian, Carl and Tyrone ....we already had a Cavs-Wizards argument, but I found out later he's a Nupe (small world huh) so he was forgiven.

Let's see, Friday night, we hit up one of those shady looking pool halls you'd see on TV. It was weird because when we walked in, the country music stopped.....and we got "the stare" (think country bar scene from 48 hours). Nothing major happened, we played a few games, downed some brews and rolled out to watch the Celtics beat on Detroit (they refused to switch from PBR).

Didn't do anything else really....COULDN'T do anything else. I hiked to the grocery store (where they DON'T believe in plastics bags), and stayed here to get some studying in. My first test is on Thursday, so I'm gearing up for WAAAAAARRR! lol.....not really, but that's how I'm taking this one. I didn't come all the way down here to lose...I'm trying to win the belt from the FAA, and Imma make it happen. YOU WATCH!

Where the wind comes sweeping down the plain....

Today, the first part of my journey led me through the "mistake by the lake" (aka Cleveland). It was weird to get off a plane, and see CAVALIERS crap all over the airport sportsbar. It was cool, they had some NFL helmets up and everything. I was tempted to thank the bartender for giving us the Ravens, but that would be beyond cruel...

When I walked outside the airport, I had a heat headache (it was 70 in DC, and 98 here), and fought it off for the victory.

The only thing that strikes me (and most northerners that travel south) is the "Southern Hospitality". I've seen it whenever I went to Georgia, but OKC is on another level...let me explain:

The apartments I'm staying at are sponsored by the FAA, it's not Holiday Inn by ANY stretch of the imagination, but its doable (for now). These apartments usually have courtesy rental cars for the tenants. Well today, they ran out so I asked the property manager if I could reserve one for later (I needed a Wal-Mart run). She hands me some keys and then says, "Here, just take my car".

Lemme say this again....she handed me the keys to her personal ride.

I asked if she needed proof of insurance/I.D., and she gave me that "you gotta be kidding me" look.

So, yeah, I went to WalMart, did some looking around, and put $5 in her tank (cause Karma's a b*tch). That would NEVER happen in DC...

Things I've noticed:

-How FLAT this place is...you can see for miles..

-It's hot...they weren't playin. The 5 day forecast looked like freakin' NBA scores.

-Native Americans represent HARD out here, and its cool to see the diversity....my homies at the BBQ shack down the street hooked it UP.

-The outer regions of OKC kinda remind me of PG County, but 50% less blacker, with drive thru BBQ and liquor errywhere.

-All the kids look like Bobby Hill

-I met a few of my classmates and they seem pretty cool....give you an update tomorrow.

As The Final Buzzer...

Sounds on my last season here in the state of MD, I realize at 11:06PM that I'm not gonna be here anymore. It's a very bittersweet feeling you know? The folks at Spacely Sprockets threw me a little happy hour shindig for me. It's weird how you go in to work, for years, around the same people, and think they don't care, when in reality, they do. People I never knew by name came out to say goodbye (oh and get blasted).

But I'm leaving. And I won't be back....for a WHILE.

We came to MD from Memphis back in spring of 85' (my dad left us in November of that year, and I remember that incident vividly), and it was a huge thing for me. New friends, new school, new adjustment to pops not being there anymore. It seemed like that was the story of my life.

Change and adapt, survive and advance.

People still didn't really understand what I was leaving for...

"So your going to pilot school?"

"Are you gonna be the guy with the orange sticks and headphones?"

"So you're flying to Nebraska?"

I've been able to simplify the concept down to "I'll be the guy in the tower".


At any rate, I'm ready. I closed up shop at Fox Run (the best apt. complex in Germantown) and I'm leaving the Death Star (Jetta) behind.

I'll give y'all an update and pics when I land at Will Rogers....

Are you serious!?

We've had rain here in DC for a week, but not just the tolerable summer rain, I'm talking 48 degrees, no sunlight, catch strep throat kinda rain, and it sucks.

It's starting to hit me for real now, the prospect and fact that I'm MOVING HALFWAY ACROSS THE U.S. to start over with a new career. It's VERY scary to say the least, but at the same time the reward is better than anything Spacely Sprockets is doing right now. There are folks at Spacely's that I'll miss for sure, and there's a few that have pissed me off to the point of no return, the ones that now seem to be twisting the knife since it's been know I'm on the way out.

I craigslisted some of my stuff, so my lil apt will start to get more and more bleak. It's gotta go though.

While staying dry at home, I looked up a cool forum for people that are relocating, city-data.com, and it's been helpful to say the least. I already know OKC is gonna be silly come summertime, but I'm legitimately worried about being in Rust Belt Hell (Cedar Rapids) for two years..so I signed up for the forum and asked some questions....

.....here's what I got:


To work at the Eastern Iowa Airport (Air Traffic Controller). I'm originally from Germantown, MD (a suburb of DC) and wanted to know some things about CR.

Is there public transportation (to the airport specifically?)

Barely. The stop is out on Wright Brothers Boulevard, which has a lot of parking and circle drive space between it and the airport proper. Here's the transit map: http://www.crbus-parking.org/_routes/Route11.pdf

Any nightlife worth checking out?

Downtown has acquired some sophisticated options such as The Piano Lounge (sounds awful, but is very nice) and a couple of great restaurants. If you want bands and rowdiness, though, you'll probably end up in Iowa City.

Are the winters as bad as they say (we have snow and ice storms here in DC, so it wouldn't be TOO bad)

This winter sucked like a Hoover. Ask us some other year! I'd say the difference from DC is that the cold weather lasts a lot longer, and there are probably longer stretches between thaws / more pleasant conditions. You'll recognize the humidity here, though!

Should I move to Iowa City and commute? Or stay near or in CR.

That depends entirely on what you are looking for in your spare time. The airport is way on the south end of Cedar Rapids, so a commute from Iowa City or even North Liberty (or Swisher or Shueyville or Fairfax or Amana) is super easy. If your second question is about nightlife, I bet you should strongly consider IC or somewhere that will allow you to easily head there for your recreation.

What's the airport like? I'm training with the FAA Academy in OKC now and that's where I've been assigned.

Small. Growing. I've always thought it was quite well kept up and the cafe is under management by my favorite coffee shop, The Blue Strawberry (yum!) The airport has had a good "feel" to it for as long as I can remember -- no scandals, no horrible management, no real trouble, and generally responsive to customer needs.

(ed. note THIS ONE KILLED ME, or as Steve Buckhantz would say...."DAAAAAAGGERRRRRRR!")

Is there diversity in CR? (I'm a brotha!)

Simply put: no. I explain it to people this way -- we went to visit my in-laws in Phoenix and were horrified to learn that our dog barked at people of color. Simply put, she'd never seen anyone that wasn't either the fishbelly white of Iowa's wintertime complexion or the strawberry white of Iowa's sunburned complexion. It was SO embarrassing! As someone who has lived in Cedar Rapids for a long time, I'm always glad to hear of people considering a move here, but I've got to be fair and tell you how the numbers stack up. All that aside, there is particularly a dearth of professional African American men and so you'd have to think those numbers could work in your favor...?

Are there any good gyms in the area (I'm a personal trainer as well, and would like a few clients)

Lots of gyms, some probably more professional than others. Again, Iowa City, with the college athletes and wanna-be college athletes and former college athletes, probably has more to offer in this area.

Any information would help, as it looks like I'll be in CR for 2-2.5 years while I get certified.

It's definitely going to be an adventure, and I hope it's a positive one. My biggest suggestion would be to start a blog -- I'm serious -- and then see whether the local media/newspapers want to link to it and/or feature your posts. I think it would be a real eye opener for our area citizens to see how they look to someone of a different background, and could teach us all something about each other.I hope it is a wonderful experience for you. Best of luck!


........God Help Me!!

Welcome To The Show......

May 1st 2008,

Today is basically the first day OF THE REST OF MY LIFE! LOL! But seriously, this here blog is going to give you all a look into the day-to-day craziness that has become my life recently.

Since last year, I've been fed up with the office politics/atmosphere of my current employer. From here on out, I shall refer to said employer as "Spacely Sprockets". If you remember the Jetsons, you can probably figure it out. We're making the BIGGEST Sprockets right now for the Feds, and we (heck, really Yours Truly) is making the smallest amount of $$$.

So being the enterprising young dude I am, I applied to answer the call of the FAA, passed the test and the interview, and am now waiting to close up shop here in MD, on the way to OKC.

Which reminds me, I need to snag some boxes today to pack up the lil things in my apartment now I plan to keep. I lucked out and found a spot in one of the FAA's long term apartments, and from the pics it looks kinda hood, but then again I'm from the Urea (DC/MD/VA to the uninitiated) so adaptation is notta problem.